


The Old Ash Tree

by thorkified



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Loneliness, M/M, Waiting, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 14:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15932432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thorkified/pseuds/thorkified
Summary: When Thor leaves to serve in the war to protect their realm, Loki is left behind, waiting for him. Every day he visits the place they have shared the most important moments of their life at, an old ash tree near their house. And Loki waits, year after year, Loki waits for his brother to return.





	The Old Ash Tree

Every day since Thor had left, Loki walked over to the old ash tree on the field near their house. He sat down, putting his hands on the roots of the tree that were above the ground and closed his eyes. He whispered: “I’m waiting for you, brother. Please come home…”

His words were carried away by the wind, cold and sharp and unusually soft for this time of the year. Loki knew winter was approaching fast, he could feel it in the air and in his heart, but no matter how cold it became, he would come back here every day. Until Thor was back by his side. 

This tree had a special meaning for them, as it had once been the place where they made their most beautiful memories. Their first kiss happened here, Thor confessed his love for his brother under those very branches many years ago, and one night, they loved each other here for the first time. Now, the tree was as dead as their parents, but not even the mightiest storms were able to harm it. It stood its ground, anchored in the earth itself and it was the only thing Loki had left to not break down completely.

Years had passed since Thor was gone. When the war began Loki had still been too young to fight, so it was his brother’s duty to protect their realm and Loki was left behind - alone, frightened and utterly heartbroken. He knew that Thor was strong, that he never gave up or surrendered, but as the years went by, Loki’s hope to reunite with his brother faded away slowly. A few months after Thor left he received a letter, but nothing ever came after that. The words on the torn and crumpled paper were as sweet as they were depressing, but Loki still carried it around with him every day. It read:

_ Do you remember our first kiss, when we were both still so young and full of life? Wait for me, brother. Wait for me and we will kiss by the old ash tree again and this time I will not leave your side anymore. Our love will bloom where it once began, I promise. Just wait for me. _

And as naive and dangerous as it was, Loki believed his brother. Those years alone were hard, but he kept the love for Thor in his heart and his feet on the ground, even when the crops refused to grow anymore and he watched their special tree wither away, he never stopped believing. Thor promised he would come back, if he lost the trust in his brother, what else was there to live for? Loki would wait until the end of the world, he knew it.

Winter came and passed and somehow, Loki made it through this harsh time once more. When the first flowers began to bloom and the last patches of snow melted on the ground, his body was weakened, but his heart grew new hope. Maybe this year, he told himself. Maybe this year he would finally come home. All throughout spring he hoped and stayed on his feet, but there was no sign of his brother and when summer arrived, he felt his heart break once again.

One night, when Loki was ready to accept the truth and that he would forever wait, a tremendous thunderstorm broke loose. Loki jerked up from his light sleep, watching in fear and fascination how the sky split open again and again, how lightning struck everything imaginable and how the rain drowned the land around him. All of this was terrifying, but Loki had seen storms before and knew it would be over soon. After a few minutes he laid back down, just listening to the roaring thunder and the rain against his windows. In a way, those sounds were comforting him, even if he couldn’t say why. A rather loud bang made him cringe at one point, but that was the only thing disturbing the soothing noise outside.

In the morning, after the storm had settled and unaware of the nightmare that he would soon discover, Loki walked outside and breathed in the fresh and still rainy air around him. Thunderstorms always reminded him of his brother and this one had done the same, more than any other before. It made him feel calm, even now, at least until he opened his eyes again and looked over at the old ash tree. What he saw, or rather what he didn’t see, made his heart nearly stop.

Without thinking or wondering what was going on, Loki began running over to the last symbol of hope in his life, dropping to his knees harshly the second he reached it. With tears in his eyes and a horrible tightness in his chest, he looked at the devastation the storm had caused. The tree that had held itself up for so long, had finally met his fate. Now Loki realized what the loud bang he had heard the night before meant and it broke his heart thinking about it. The tree had been struck by lightning, the sheer force splitting it in half and leaving nothing but two halves torn apart eternally.

When the first tears fell, Loki threw himself over one of the tree halves, crying out his heartbreak and his agony without any restrains. Seeing this horrible thing in front of him was more devastating than anything else that happened over the last years, considering the tree’s meaning for him and how much he had held onto it. With their tree being gone, how would Thor ever be able to keep his promise? How could he still believe that his brother would come back anymore? He had believed their tree to be forever, to stay with him until the day he would see Thor’s face again. Now it felt like his whole world had been crushed and there was no light for him anymore, no matter how hard he tried to find it.

Loki was too far gone in his mourning that he didn’t hear the quiet voice calling out for him at first. Only when it happened again and the wind carried the single word over to him he froze, the realization unable to break through his veil of grief.

“Brother…”

He couldn’t believe it, but despite his shock and devastation, Loki turned around. Even if it was just his mind playing with him, he had to know. He just had to. And there, merely a few feet away and almost unrecognizable for anyone but Loki himself, stood his brother.

“Thor,” Loki whispered, shakingly getting up and stumbling over to him. More tears escaped his eyes when he laid a hand on his brother’s cheek and he let out a relieved laugh that sounded almost like a cry. “Thor, you’ve come back to me…”

“I promised I would come back, Loki,” Thor said gently, covering Loki’s hand with his own and smiling the most loving and tender smile his brother had ever seen. “I missed you so much.”

Loki nearly exploded from happiness when he wrapped his arms around his brother, hugging him as tight as he possibly could and burying his face against the crook of his neck. Sobbing and shaking, Loki clung to Thor for his dear life, unable to let go and unable to fathom that his agonizing loneliness was finally over, that he would never again wake up in an empty bed, without Thor by his side.

“Please never go away again,” Loki finally mumbled, forcing the words out because he just had to say them. The years alone had been a nightmare like no other and he constantly feared that his brother had died without him even knowing it, he never wanted to feel this helpless and abandoned ever again.

Thor brushed a hand through his brother’s hair, kissing the crown of his head in the most careful way possible, before pushing him away enough to look at him.

“I will never leave you again, Loki,” Thor assured him, the sound of his voice alone easing his brother’s fear. “It’s over, the war is won. Nothing will tear us apart again, I promise.”

Loki nodded, leaning into his brother’s gentle touch with a faint smile on his lips. “I thought… that you wouldn’t come back… I thought this was a sign that you were gone forever…”

“Brother, I made a promise, didn’t I?” Thor smiled, thumbs caressing Loki’s cheeks. “I always keep my promises.”

And when Thor finally kissed Loki again after all those years apart, it felt like a dream come true. Everything became more real, that part of him that was gone without his brother had finally returned, mending the wounds in his heart and leaving no room for any doubts and fears anymore. Here, near the old ash tree that had always been a silent witness of their life, Thor reignited the flame of their love in what felt like a wildfire taking over Loki’s entire mind.

Everything would be good now, he knew it. Death and suffering had been brought upon their realm and brave soldiers had died protecting it, but in this moment only the future mattered. A future Loki would spend side by side with his brother, the one he loved more dearly than life itself. Together they would find their happiness again. Together, yes. They were finally back together...


End file.
